Part One (The Pacific)

"Part One" is the series premiere of the American war drama miniseries The Pacific. The episode was written by series developer Bruce C. McKenna, and directed by supervising producer Tim Van Patten. It originally aired on HBO on March 14, 2010.

The series focuses on the United States Marine Corps's actions in the Pacific Theater of Operations within the wider Pacific War. It primarily centers on the experiences of three Marines (Robert Leckie, Eugene Sledge, and John Basilone) who were in different regiments (1st, 5th, and 7th, respectively) of the 1st Marine Division. The episode introduces the characters, with a major focus on Leckie as the Guadalcanal campaign begins.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 3.08 million household viewers and gained a 1.1 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received extremely positive reviews from critics, who deemed it as a promising start for the series.

Plot
In December 1941, a few weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Robert Leckie attends church. As he is leaving, he runs into his neighbor, Vera Keller. As they catch up, Leckie reveals that he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and says he will write to her.

After attending a military meeting with Lieutenant General Chesty Puller, Sergeants John Basilone, J.P. Morgan, and Manny Rodriguez dine at Basilone's family's house for Christmas, promising to meet again within one year. Leckie departs for boot camp in Newark, New Jersey, with his father showing more concern for his car than saying goodbye. The following day at Mobile, Alabama, Eugene Sledge visits his childhood friend, Sidney Phillips, who will be leaving soon for the Marines. Sledge also tried to join, but his heart murmur and his father’s disapproval prevents him from enlisting.

In August 1942, the Guadalcanal campaign begins. Leckie is assigned along with his colleagues — Phillips, Wilbur "Runner" Conley, Lew "Chuckler" Juergens, Bill "Hoosier" Smith, and Ronnie Gibson — to a company commanded by Captain Jameson. Connecting with the 5th Marine Regiment, the company is ordered to protect the island’s airfield from an incoming Japanese attack, especially as U.S. naval ships leave after a major defeat at the Battle of Savo Island. That night, the company is attacked by Japanese troops in Tenaru, but hold them off and kill most of them. A shell-shocked Jameson is relieved from his position.

Leckie is disturbed by the carnage he witnesses and other indignities committed by his company, including shooting a helpless Japanese soldier for sport, prompting Leckie to kill him to end his suffering. He starts writing letters to Vera. On September 18, the 7th Marine Regiment led by Puller arrives at Guadalcanal, with Basilone, Rodriguez, and Morgan passing Leckie’s tattered company as they march. The company reads some letters, including one Sledge wrote to Phillips about life in Alabama. Learning that Philips turned 18 a few weeks ago, the company sings a morbid version of "Happy Birthday to You" as they enter the jungle.

Development
The episode was written by series developer Bruce C. McKenna, and directed by supervising producer Tim Van Patten.

Viewers
In its original American broadcast, "Part One" was seen by an estimated 3.08 million household viewers with a 1.1 in the 18–49 demographics. This means that 1.1 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.

Critical reviews
"Part One" received extremely positive reviews from critics. Ramsey Isler of IGN gave the episode a "great" 8 out of 10 and wrote, "The human story is certainly the angle this series will go for. Grand battles and heroics will take a backseat to personal stories and tragedies. Will that be enough to differentiate this series from tales that have covered similar material before? Perhaps, but it's not there yet."

Emily St. James of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+" grade and wrote, ""Part 1" is one of the lesser episodes of The Pacific, which is generally an excellent production all around but often seems to traffic in war movie cliche just to get things rolling. "Part 1" definitely has its share of those moments, as the world-weary intellectual comes up against the inhumanity of man and the general engages in spewing agitprop about how we're going to WIN this war, dammit, and the kid who can't go to war weeps to realize he can't. It's not to say that these scenes are bad, exactly, or that they're historically inaccurate. But you've seen them before. And you've often seen them done better."

Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger wrote, "I'm hoping the picture issue was the more important one, and that therefore those of you who just watched it for the first time tonight were absorbed by this world from the jump. And if not, I strongly recommend giving Part One a second viewing if you have the time, as it'll greatly improve your appreciation going forward." Adam Bryant of TV Guide wrote, "Back before every other TV show featured a tropical locale or James Cameron created a 3-D universe called Pandora, the jungle probably did feel like another world. So it's fitting that the production team went to such great lengths in some of the opening scenes to make the overgrown jungle — the stage for much of this bloody tale — as intimidating as the encroaching Japanese enemy."

Paul MacInnes of The Guardian wrote, "Their commander, Lieutenant Colonel "Chesty" Puller, describes their task as being the following: "Marines will do battle with Japs on tiny specks of land we've never heard of." Puller's words come at an induction for his men at the end of 1941. By the following autumn the tone is less jocular." Nick Horton of Den of Geek wrote, "Much has been made of the production budget of $200+ million, and with the promotional material firmly concentrating on the scope of it, it seems apt to start with the visual aspect of things. Make no mistake, this production is huge. They've thrown most of that money up on screen, and it tells. I was lucky enough to watch it on the big screen, and it honestly looked better than some recent big-budget blockbusters I've seen."